P&O Feries, which is part of the Dubai based container terminals group DP World, is planning to start a newbuilding project towards the end of this year.

“We were previously thinking about new-build orders coming on stream in 2020-21,” CEO Helen Deeble said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph newspaper. “Now what we’re going to do is see if we can bring them forward by a year or two, which means we have got to start really at the end of this year with a new build project,” she was quoted as saying.

The company operates ferries on three services that link the UK with the Continent, while service connects the UK with the Republic of Ireland and two link Scotland with Northern Ireland.

Its latest vessels are the two 49,000 gross ton Dover-Calais service units Pride of Britain and Pride of France, which were introduced at the turn of the decade. The ships cost about €155 million each and they entered service at the depth of the slowdown that followed the financial crisis of 2008.

P&O Ferries operates two 1987 built overnight ferries on the Hull to Zeebrugge service and the 32,000 gross ton vessels are possible replacement candidates as the company’s newbuilding programme kicks off.

Investment in ferries with overnight capacity has been shining with its absence in recent years in trades to and from the UK.

However, Irish Continental Group, based in Dublin, earlier this week unveiled an order for a 50,000 gross ton cruise ferry with cabin accommodation, while Stena Line, the Swedish ferry company, ordered four 3,000 lane metre ropaxes with 1,000 passenger capacity in China, with an option for another four.

The Swedish company has not disclosed where it would employ the new vessels, but e.g. the Irish Sea is an option for some of them.